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Tom Brady is back in the Super Bowl for an incredible 10th time and at the very old age of 43.
He’s the first QB to lead his team to a home Super Bowl.
And a win on Sunday would give him his seventh ring, which is absolutely wild, especially considering who he’s going up against.
But would it be the most impressive win of his career? I can see how some people would say yes, considering his age and how he’s going against the great Patrick Mahomes and the defending champs. That argument would make sense to me and I’d tip my cap at you.
Though that hat tip would come while I’m disagreeing with you.
Tom Brady’s most impressive win came long before Twitter or Instagram were things where he joined us in sharing silly photos.
Tom Brady’s most impressive win came way back in February of 2002 when he beat Kurt Warner and the then St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl 36.
2002!
That’s, like, a really long time ago for those of you trying to do the math this early in the morning.
And that, of course, was his first Super Bowl victory which came when he was not even close to being the GOAT. It came when he was still a wide-eyed young kid slinging passes on a game-winning drive as if it was a Week 3 matchup against the Jets. It came when he probably wasn’t even thinking about eating avocado ice cream.
It also was the last time Brady was an underdog on Super Bowl Sunday, which he will be again this weekend when he sprints out onto his homefield in Tampa.
Brady and the Patriots were 14-point ‘dogs to the “Greatest Show on Turf” that Sunday in New Orleans. A 14-point favorite just doesn’t happen in the Super Bowl these days. There’s only been one other double-digit spread since then, when the unbeaten Patriots were 12-point favorites against the Giants and lost.
The Rams were supposed to role over the Patriots and it was supposed to get really ugly really quickly.
That didn’t happen, of course, as Brady marched the Patriots down the field in the final minutes and into field goal range, all while John Madden was saying on the Fox broadcast that the Patriots and their young QB should play for OT. Adam Vinatieri then calmly hit a 48-yard field goal to stun the Rams and the legend of Brady was born.
I was living in Boston back when Brady won his first Super Bowl and I can remember how a few days after the game the Boston Herald had a cover story about how all the bookies left town because they lost so much money thanks to the Rams and thanks to Brady.
Brady and the Patriots were not supposed to win that game. At all. But they did win and they did it in style.
Can that happen again for the old man this Sunday? History says be careful about betting against him.
And if he does, I still don’t think it will top what he did 3,000 years ago. But it would be close.
Quick hits: Brett Favre ripped for Watson take… Why Warriors should trade for Lonzo Ball… Pitbull on become a NASCAR owner.
– Brett Favre shared his thoughts on Deshaun Watson’s trade request and everyone on Twitter rightly crushed him.
– Charles Curtis looks at the Warriors and explains why they should trade for Lonzo Ball.
– Pitbull spoke with my friend Michelle Martinelli and explained how becoming a NASCAR team owner with Daniel Suárez driving is a “revolution.”